THE chief executive officer of BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, backed the campaign for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying that exiting the bloc would damage its relationship with China.

    “I can tell you from my dealings with the highest level of the Chinese Government that China takes Britain far more seriously because we are a major player in the European Union,” Andrew Mackenzie, a 59-year-old Scot, said in comments ahead of an event hosted by the Center for European Reform in London yesterday.

    U.K. voters will head to the polls June 23 to decide whether to stay or leave the 28-member state bloc. Mackenzie’s view echoes comments made by George Osborne, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, Friday as the 10-week referendum campaign officially got under way.

    Osborne warned that economic activity in Britain is already suffering as a result of concerns about voters backing a so-called Brexit.

    China is BHP’s biggest customer, with the country responsible for US$16 billion in sales and representing 37 percent of revenue for the miner in fiscal 2015. BHP and other mining companies are confronting a slump in commodity prices caused by slower economic growth in the world’s second-biggest economy.

    Foreign direct investment in Britain could drop 22 percent if voters choose to leave the European Union, cutting incomes by about 3.4 percent, according to research for the London School of Economics Center for Economic Performance published Friday. (SD-Agencies)